chakravarthy

You may not have heard of Shu-ilishu but he is a man of great significance. He reaches out to us from almost 4,300 years ago, through a small Akkadian cylinder seal now housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris. On the seal, you will find an image of him talking to two men. The inscription describes Shu-ilishu as the interpreter of the Meluhhan language. 'Meluha' was, in all probability, the term used by ancient Mesopotamians for the Indus Valley region, and the presence of an oficial 'interpreter' there indicates just how important the steady flow of good from the Indian sub-continent was.  Precious and vibrant lapis lazuli stones, carnelian beads, wood and even dogs would go across via old trade routes and ports like Lothal (in modern-day Gujarat) to Akkad, capital of the Akkadian Empire (03rd millennium BCE) and now in modern-day Iraq. There are also references to a settlement of Meluhhans in the city of Guabba in Sumer, in Mesopotamia.  The story of Shi-ilishu and ...

(1). Three things are necessary to make every man great, every nation great: (a). Conviction of the powers of goodness. (b). Absence of jealousy and suspicion. (c). Helping all who are trying to be, and do good. ( Swami Vivekananda ). (2). The Main Condition For Realisation Is Purity : Our whole individuality must be purified. At the present time, it has become most impure, coloured, as it is, by physical and mental desires, passions, instincts, etc. To the purified mind, the Lord reveals Himself in a flash. So, what stands between us and realisation, is just that impurity. Nothing else. If we were pure, realisation would reveal itself in a moment. Never blame anybody else, never blame circumstances, but go and blame yourselves. The fault is yours and yours alone. Peace can be had only by refusing to become identified with any of the limiting adjuncts. There are friends and friends. You should make the SELF your friend and give up all false friends, however, plesant they are....

[ Based on a conversation with Chris Impey, a Professor of Astronomy, published in PHYS.ORG on 17th June, 2020. The author has been teaching Tibetan Monks and Nuns for over a decade ].  These are trying times. A global recession sparked by the corona virus pandemic, and widespread civil unrest, have created a combustible mix of angst - stressors that heighten the risk for long-term health woes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidelines to cope with this anxiety. Among them is meditation. Buddhists have been familiar with this strategy for thousands of years. And as the CDC example shows, scientists increasingly believe they can learn from Buddhism.  Momentum for dialogue between Buddhism and Science comes from the top. When Tenzin Gyatso - now serving as the 14th Dalai Lama - was a child in rural Tibet, he saw the moon through a telescope and marvelled at its craters and mountains. His tutor told him that, according to Buddhist texts, the ...

(1). Garlic : Garlic has a protective effect on your kidneys and other organs. Regular consumption has been found to lower the concentration of lead and cadmium in kidneys, heart, liver, spleen, and blood stream. Garlic also has diuretic properties that help you eliminate excess sodium from your body. And not only that, but allicin, the active ingredient in garlic, has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. that means it can greatly assist your kidneys in cleansing and filtering blood of harmful invaders.  (2). Turmeric : Fans of Asian cuisine are quiet familiar with turmeric, which is the herb that gives curry its distinctive flavour and colour. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which is known to reduce the effect of inflammatory molecules and enzymes that trigger chronic kidney disease. Curcumin actually holds back the growth and spread of all kinds of microbes, easing the strain on your kidneys. One of word of caution applies to people wh...

On 15th June, 1947, the All-India Congress accepted the British plan for the partition of India in New Delhi. The plan for the Partition, also known as the Mountbatten Plan was declared by the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten. The partition of India in August 1947 is no doubt one of the most tragic and violent events the sub-continent has witnessed in recent history. British India was partitioned on the basis of religious demographics which went on to create the Soveriegn States of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India (later the Republic of India). The Dominion of Pakistan (which was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims) was later further divided into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The creation of Pakistan was advocated by the All-India Muslim League (which was founded in Dhaka in 1906) by Muslims who were of the opinion that Muslim members of the Indian National Congress did not enjoy the same rights as Hindu mem...

[ Courtesy: An article written by Parsa Venkateswar Rao Jr., Delhi based commentator and analyst, published in Editorial column of Deccan Chronicle dated, 15th January, 2018 (Monday) ]. It seems everyone had over-reacted to the unprecedented press conference that four senior Supreme Court judges held on 12th January, 2018 (Friday). The judges had stated their case quiet carefully though the justification they gave about the danger to democracy and their obligation to the nation had its element of justifiable rhetoric. They did not reveal much, and they referred only to the issue of allocation of cases by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. They defined the function of the Chief Justice as being that of first among equals, and his right to set the roster doesn't allow him to be arbitrary. On the third day, it seems that the rebellion that seemed to have shaken the Supreme Court of India turns our to be quiet nearly the proverbial storm in a teacup. Justice Kurian Joseph's statement t...

According to psychologists, there are three types of intelligence: (1). Intelligence Quotient (IQ). (2). Emotional Quotient (EQ). (3). Social Quotient (SQ). (1). Intelligence Quotient (IQ) : This is the measure of your comprehension ability, solve mathematics; memorise things and recall subject matters. (2). Emotional Quotient (EQ) : This is the measure of your ability to maintain peace with others; keep to time; be responsible; be honest; respect boundaries;be humble, genuine and considerate.   (3). Social Quotient (SQ) : This is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time. People who have higher EQ and SQ tend to go farther in life than those with high IQ but low EQ and SQ.Most schools capitalise in improving IQ level while EQ and SQ are played down.  A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ. Your EQ represents your character; your S...

The scientists have said that the newly discovered Black Hole is so close to Earth that it is one of the most easily observed Black Hole on a clear night. Astronomers from the European Observatory (ESO) discovered the nearest Black Hole from the planet Earth, reported the Universe today. It is located in the constellation of Telescopium (near the constellation of Sagittarius) just 1,000 light-years away from the Earth, added the report. It is estimated that the Black Hole is at least 4.2 times the Sun's mass. The study revealing the details of the nearest Black Hole to the Earth has been published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The astronomers are of the belief that a second mass like the one discovered now is on the horizon.  Unlike every other Black Holes found till now, this Black Hole is easier to observe. The astronomers' team first discovered this by tracking two companion stars in the system named HR 6819. The group of astronomers discovered the HR 6819 Black Hole by...

(1). What is always in front of you but can't be seen? (2). What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it? (3). I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I? (4). What can you catch, but not throw? (5). What has to be broken before you can use it? (6). I amd tall when I am young, and I am short when I am old. What am I? (7). What goes up but never comes down? (8). The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it? (9). What can travel all around the world without leaving its corner? (10). What question can you never answer yes to? (11). What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it? (12). What has 13 hearts, but no other organs? (13). What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps? (14). What can fill a room but takes up no space? (15). What has one eye, but can't see? (16). If you drop me I am sure to crack, but give me a smile and I will alw...

Scientists have put forward a theory that memorising ancient mantras could increase the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function. In a study led by neuro-scientist and Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr. James Hartzell, the brain's massive grey matter density and cortical thickness was found to increase in those who had learnt and routinely recited the Sanskrit texts for the past decade. For the study, Dr, Hertzell, who coined the term, 'The Sanskrit Effect', compared the brains of 21 male participants with those of 21 professional Vedic Sanskrit Pandits who had memorised the Yajurveda Samhita textand trained since childhood to memorise, recite and master the exact pronunciation of the ancient texts. What he and his research team found was massive grey matter density and cortical thickness increases in Pandit brains in language, memory and visual systems. "The findings provide unique insight into the brain organisation implementing formalised oral knowledg...

Once there was a man who did not make it to university. So, his mother got him a wife. After the marriage, he worked as a teacher in a primary school. Due to the lack of experience, he was squashed by the students in less than a week. When he returned home, his wife dried his tears. She comforted him with these words. "When one is too full, he could either pour it out what's in him or he just could not pour it out at all. You should not be too sad about it. Probably there is a more suitable job waiting for you out there". Later on, he found another job and not for so long, he was fired due to his slowness. This time, the wife commented. "There are always people who are skillful. Some have experience from their years of work. As for you, you were in school all this while. So, how could you acquire these needed skills?"  He went for  a number of jobs but never stayed long in those jobs. Each time, he would return home with a dejected spirit. His wife would alw...

'GURUJI'. For members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the larger Sangh Parivar, this word refers to just one person - Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar. The second Sarsangchalak (Chief) of the RSS after Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (Doctorji), Golwalkar remained the ideological guru of the Right-Wing Organisation for 33 years, from 1940 until his death in 1973. He took the RSS to great institutional strength after Independence. He wrote a book in 1996 on nationalism and the idea of a nation, called "Bunch of Thoughts". Historian Ramchandra Guha once equated the value of "Bunch of Thoughts" for believers in the political ideology of Hindutva to that of the Bible for Christians, or the Quran for Muslims.  From Golwalkar to 'Guruji': Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar was born on 19th February, 1906 at Ramtek near Nagpur to a Brahmin family. He was the only surviving son out of nine children. In 1927, Golwalkar completed his M.Sc. from Banaras Hindu Unive...

SEVENTY-FOUR YEAR OLD Palam Kalyana Sundaram is a retired librarian. A recipient of the Best Librarian in India Award, Cambridge honoured him as one of the 'noblest men of the world' and the United Nations recognised him as one of the most outstanding people of the 20th century. This man of no possession has, however, given away all his award money, salary and pension for charity. The amount he has given away over the past four decades for the cause of humanity sums up to Rs. 30 crore. Palam was born in Melakarivelamkulam, Tamil Nadu. After losing his father at a very young age, he recalls how his mother inspired him to serve the poor. He went on to do his Master's in Literature, and is also a gold medalist in Library Science, but his intent to do his bit for the society remained. He soon got a job as a Librarian in Tuticorin, and has since then, contributed all his salary, pension benefits and ancestral property for social welfare. According to Indiatimes , Palam did not...

One of science's most challenging problems is a question that can be stated easily: Where does consciousness come from? In his new book Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness , philosopher Philip Goff considers a radical perspective: What if consciousness is not something special that the brain does but is instead a quality inherent to all matter? It is a theory known as "panpsychism", and Goff guides readers through the history of the idea, answers common objections (such as "That's just crazy!") and explains why he believes panpsychism represents the best path forward. He answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook. [An edited transcript of the interview follows]. (1). Can you explain, in simple terms, what you mean by panpsychism? (1). In our standard view of things, consciousness exists only in the brains of highly evolved organisms, and hence consciousness exists only in a tiny part of the universe and only...